


Don't Look

by Depths



Series: Linked Universe Oneshots [4]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood and Injury, Feral Behavior, Feral Link (Legend of Zelda), Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Link (Legend of Zelda) Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Near Death Experiences, Panic Attacks, Selectively Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), Wild (Linked Universe) Angst, Wind (Linked Universe) Angst, give these boys a hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 06:54:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29647464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Depths/pseuds/Depths
Summary: There are in Time's Hyrule. A familiar one, a safe one–– one full of Malon and Epona and the Ranch.One Wind and Wild thought they were safe enough to sneak off in to spar.
Relationships: Daruk & Link & Mipha & Revali & Urbosa & Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Wild & Wind (Linked Universe)
Series: Linked Universe Oneshots [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1982555
Comments: 29
Kudos: 225





	Don't Look

**Author's Note:**

> Written for febuwhump day 23: don't look!

_ Don't look. _

Wild didn't even bother pretending to listen. It would be a waste of time and a lie. All of his voices already knew he wasn't paying attention. He could never fool them. It was useless to try now.

_ Listen to Mipha, Link. You shouldn't see this. Turn around and get the others–– get the slate. Where is the slate, Link? _

It was fine. Everything was fine. One moment Wild was just having any other day. Fighting monsters, catching bugs, looking at whatever big pretty something his companions pointed out next. There was no shortage of interesting things in the other worlds. Even his voices loved to see what their universes had to offer, pointing out everything from unfamiliar monsters and alien weaponry to food.

_ Wind, _ Mipha whispered, hushed and upset. Something cool and soothing rooted deep and unplaceable in his chest pulsed. It beat, over and over, a second heartbeat. Wild knew his veins probably were glowing with it.  _ I cannot heal you. I can–– I can only h-heal... _

"Wild," Wind gasped, "Please, d-don't, don't look."

The monsters, especially, were weird.  _ His _ monsters were pretty ugly. They oozed malice from their greasy and scaled skin, stared with flickering bulbous eyes, screaming with hissing, warbling shrieks–– but they were a type of ugly he was used to.

The monster before him now was anything but familiar. It's body seemed as if made from gelatinous darkness itself–– rippling and strange, a hunched visage with a twitching head like a carved stone tablet and a mane of wavering shadows. 

They moved quickly too–– far quicker than the enemies of his own Hyrule. Quick enough that Wild had quickly lost his borrowed sword, sinking into liquid flesh. Quick enough that Wild had resorted to his jaws early, strange enough that his teeth sank into oozing flesh and left not even an indent on false skin. He had stumbled back, coughing up nothing but his own spit. Yet when he licked over his teeth he could still taste the alien  _ otherness _ of their flesh.

So much strangeness. So much unrecognizable in a way so distinct from the alienness of his world.

"Pl-ease," Wind forced out, coughing wetly. The sheer rattling effort of the single word made his small fingers curl white-knuckled into the dirt. " _ please _ ."

There was nothing strange or unfamiliar about the blood on his hands.

Wild looked at his hands, at the creature, at the claws it continued twisting into Wind's stomach, and began to  _ scream _ .

* * *

Pain. So much of it.  _ Too _ much of it.

Wind's breath hitched sickeningly. He attempted to do something, anything–– his numb hands trembled uselessly around his sword. The handle was too slick with blood to do much more than desperately try to keep it in his hands, much less swing it.

The claws in his stomach twitched. They moved inside of him, a slow curl up that had the jagged tips of them  _ scraping _ across his bottom ribs.

Something wet and thick raced up Wind's throat. He clenched his jaw tight. It didn't stop the taste of sour blood from hitting the back of his tongue. He gagged behind tightly pressed lips.

The shadow beast didn't even seem to notice. It chirred gutturally, twitching head peering down at Wind as if curious. It's claws twisted again.

Wind whimpered. He couldn't even hear it over the screaming–– could barely hear  _ anything _ over the screaming. Mipha crouched before him, face tight, running her ghostly hands around his stomach. It was hard to see much of anything past her glow but the distinctive sparking flare of Urbosa's spirit remained close at the Zora's side. Her manicured nails tore uselessly at the shadow beast's hands, painted lips cursing in unfamiliar, sharp whispers. He strained to hear them, either of them. Neither of their voices reached him through the growing ringing in his ears.

Past them, Wind's darkening vision could just barely make out a wall of feathers. Revali's spread wings hid Wild from him and he couldn't make out Daruk at all if the Goron had even manifested, but he could hear them.

Nothing could rival the volume that Wild was screaming.

Wordless shrieking–– ragged and raw as if ripped out of his friend's throat by his bare hands–– it went on and on without pause. As if Wild didn't know how to do anything else; not blinking, not breathing. As if he  _ couldn't _ do anything else.

Carved, cold stone ducked closer, and closer. The shadow beast clicked ominously scarce inches from his face. 

Now that Wind was looking directly at it he couldn't look away. His shaking hands came up and clawed fruitlessly at the hand still impaling him, holding him off the ground. He wasn't sure when he had dropped his sword–– Wind hadn't even felt it leave his fingers; hadn't even heard it hit the dirt. All that was left on his hands was his blood and the growing shadow clogging up under his nails.

His heart thumped wildly in his ears. Wind shuddered as he felt those claws twist again, felt the way his blood gushed out through the holes gouged out of his gut and soaked into his ruined tunic. He tried not to look at it. Mipha's chilling touch did little to dull the pain. 

Wild continued to scream. Wind was getting horribly used to it.

_ I'm going to die here. _

His eyes were sliding shut.

_ No, no, _ a voice reached him, loud and furious. A freezing rush of alien energy rushed through his cheek. Wind's eyes flew open, shocked awake. Urbosa's ghostly visage glared at him, her painted face sliding right through the shadow beast's unsettling stone head to fill his vision.  _ Do  _ not _ fall asleep, sailor! You must stay awake, do you understand?! _ Her hands came up, cupping his face. Her fingers slid through his skin, unable to touch him. Wind couldn't even find the strength left to cringe away from the coldness of her ghost.

The pain was too blinding, too exhausting. Wind could only stare, blinking slowly. Urbosa's face twisted into a snarl.  _ Stay awake, _ she commanded him, voice dangerously stern in a way that would make even Tetra straighten,  _ Stay awake until help comes. _

_ I can't, _ he thought hopelessly.  _ I can't. I can't. _

But Urbosa couldn't hear his thoughts, and even if she could Wind was certain she wouldn't care to humor them.

Behind her, Wild's screaming finally began to taper. Enough so to hear the rest of the champions past the growing fog in Wind's mind.

_ There we go, _ Daruk's normally cheery voice soothed,  _ Come on buddy, that's it, bring it in... _

_ We don't have time for this! _ Revali argued.  _ Those so-called heroes aren't coming, he needs to find the slate! His stupid Hylian teeth aren't enough to take that one down! _

_ What, and you saw where it landed?! _ Daruk shouted.  _ You're the one with the best eyes of us, why don't  _ you _ –– _

_ I'M A LITTLE BUSY HERE!  _ Revali shrieked. 

Wind startled a little as Urbosa whipped around, her thick hair passing harmlessly right through his cheeks.  _ Stop!  _ She roared.  _ Link is calming, Revali, hurry and locate the slate and help Daruk lead him to it! _

There was no arguing against Urbosa. Wind squeezed his eyes as Urbosa turned back to face him, the blurry light of her moving spirit making him a little nauseous.

_ Mipha, _ Urbosa said, a little quieter,  _ is anything working? _

Wind had a feeling the question wasn't for him to hear at all. He still shook when Mipha's tiny answer of  _ No _ hit him. He only felt worse when the petite ghost stood up, abandoning all pretense of being able to heal him.

_ I'm really going to die here. _

He couldn't hear Wild anymore. Could barely register the frantic voices of Daruk and Revali, could barely feel it when Urbosa and Mipha touched him. The uncomfortable cold of their presence was quickly becoming something comforting when compared to the agony piercing through his gut. They crowded close, keeping Wind's slipping vision on them and not on the monster watching him.

_ Stay awake, _ Urbosa ordered.

_ Almost there, _ Mipha soothed.

Wind didn't have the strength to believe them.

For a single, horrible moment, all he could think was that it was so unfair that he wasn't even going to be allowed to die in his own Hyrule. Hadn't he done  _ enough _ ?

Racing footsteps. A flash of silver among the blue.

Wind wheezed, blood dribbling past his grit teeth, as an ax cleaved the monster in half. The weight of the weapon tore through gelatinous shadow. Jagged and chipped edges clipped the air centimeters from Wind’s nose–– ripping down, down–– 

_ Shllck. _

He choked on a scream as the beast’s claws were torn from his stomach. 

His back hit the ground. Blinding pain ripped up through his spine and Wind opened his mouth in a soundless scream as the world whited out. Sound fizzled away into a ringing void. Everything burned everywhere, endlessly. He vaguely registered himself heaving, vaguely registered the blood spilling out of him too fast to be safe––

_ ––nd! _ Someone was screaming, two, three someone’s were screaming, _ Wind! Stop, you’re making it worse! _

The unnatural cold shocked straight through his heart, almost freezing it in place. Wind jerked with a ragged gasp. 

Wild’s ghosts filled his eyes. Mipha hissed through her teeth, a relieved breath she never needed to take. Her wide eyes barely relaxed.  _ Good,  _ she cooed, voice honey-sweet with faulty calm,  _ Good, good job. Stay awake, that’s it. It’s almost over, I promise. _

Wind blinked blearily up at her. It took all his effort just to open his eyes again. “‘M g’nna ‘ie?” He asked. 

Cold, cold, cold. Daruk’s shaky smile turned into a hard line. Urbosa’s hands tightened around his shoulders, freezing nails sliding through his skin. Mipha cradled his face, palms so delicate and gentle on him even as his head lolled through her touch.  _ No, _ She soothed, _ no, you’re not. Li–– Wild is going to help you, okay? Help is coming. You’re going to be okay. _ Her fingers tried to rub blood Wind had realized had splattered across his cheek, his chin.  _ Just stay awake. It’s almost over. _

She continued to whisper, quiet little platitudes. If he focused, he could just barely make out other noises around her. Rapid voices, hushed and panicked. Wind tilted his head as far as he could painlessly, trying to see around the ghosts. They were so bright, so close, it was almost impossible to even squint past them, but when he stared hard enough, he could just make out the bloodied blue of Wild’s tunic, the glow of feathers and flesh. Wind blinked slow, slower. 

“Wil’,” he murmured. Mipha shushed him but the blue shadows shifted. Wind breathed out shakily as supernatural bright blue-green eyes whipped his way. “Wil’,” He called again. 

Almost immediately, Wild was at his side. The Sheikah slate trembled violently in his scarred hands, pulsing with too-bright light as Wild pulled thing after thing out of it. “Wind,” He said, raw, rough. Potions of colors Wind had and had not seen before tumbled out of the slate, clicking and clinking where they rolled off Wild’s lap and across the grass. “Help. Help-ing Wind, now. Okay?” 

Just having him there was helping. Wind reached for his brother. It pulled too many wrong things in the wrong way. He did it anyway. Wild fumbled to take his hand, almost dropping the slate onto the growing potion pile. 

_ Link,  _ Mipha said. Wind looked up at her. She wasn’t looking at him. Her painted lips pursed, trembling and tight, as one of her hands left Wind to carefully attempt to brush a lock of Wild’s hair behind his ear.  _ Link, he needs the potion now. _

_ The red one, _ Revali agreed, and Wind was unsure whether the Rito was mocking or stating,  _ Or a pink. _

_ To your left, _ Urbosa added. She poked at the potion in question, not bothering to stop Daruk as he tried uselessly to hand it to Wild over and over.  _ Right by your foot.  _

Wild lunged for it, almost breaking it in the process. The speed at which he moved to open it, holding it to Wind’s face, was slightly dizzying. 

_ You need to prop him up, _ Mipha cut in, her voice freezing WIld’s hands in place.  _ He won’t be able to get it down if he’s laying down. _ Wild whined, long and frustrated. His free hand hovered over Wind’s shoulder, patting him absurdly gently.  _ Put a hand on his back. Higher–– good. _ Wind’s teeth buried themselves in his cheek as Wild slowly, slowly pulled him up off the ground, his shaking hand unsurely pressed between his shoulder blades. The world went silent and empty for a long stretch as the forced movement yanked at the holes in his stomach, almost enough to miss the cool glass against his mouth, edged clacking against his grit teeth. Mipha’s encouraging little  _ all of it, Link, all of it. I believe in you  _ filled his ears. 

The potion pressed, tilted. Wind instinctively opened up as the mixture tingled familiarly against his lips. It flooded into his mouth so fast he sputtered painfully. 

_ Not that quickly–– _

_ Be careful!  _

_ Gently, Link–– _

_ Go easy, little guy! _

Wild’s hand twitched on his back, nails digging just barely into his tunic. The glass lip of the potion rattled against his mouth. Wind gagged a little, relieved, as Wild delicately pulled away, trying clumsily to trickle the potion past his parted lips instead of pouring. It still hurt–– even trying to swallow seemed to pull at his wounds. 

The potion healed as it went. Wind shivered as the coolness of it spread through his body, knitting his flesh back together slowly. Breathing became gradually easier. Soon, Wind was able to lift his hand, weak as it was, to tip Wild’s further–– beginning to gulp with a stronger frenzy than he could before. Wild whined, quiet and unsure, but Wind could hear the Champions’ soothing whispers before he could think to do anything but continue to drink. 

The glass ran empty. Wind gasped against the vial, holding his tongue out for any extra drops. When Wild finally pulled it away he almost whimpered. 

Wild’s hand carefully, so carefully, propped him up further. Wind grit his teeth against the phantom yank at his wounds. The dizziness of blood loss remained, spinning his eyes in his skull, but the stabbing agony of his stomach was quickly fading. 

_ You did it, _ Mipha murmured, far more exhausted than a ghost should have even been able. The bright, blinding blue of their bodies steadily began to flicker away, the Champions seeing no more need to be physically manifested.  _ We’re all very proud of you.  _

A scarred hand patted him, absurdly careful. Wind winced a little as Wild tugged at his ripped tunic. “Wind?” Wild whispered. He ducked down, glowing eyes searching Wind’s out. “Wind? Okay? No more hurt?” 

“U-uh,” Wind coughed, groaning. His voice sounded terrible even after the potion. “I, uh… I’m okay. I think.” 

That didn’t make Wild any more confident. The other hero eyed him suspiciously. “Hold?” He asked. When Wind only blinked up at him he huffed. “Can hold? You? Pick up?” 

_ Pick up? He wants to––  _ ”You want to pick me up?” Wind asked, just to repeat it. His forehead creased. “You don’t have to carry me Wild, I can walk!” 

Could, and needed to. They had wandered far from the others, in their attempt to find a quiet place to spar... Wind was surprised none of them had chased after them after all the screaming they did. Regardless, they needed to head back before something else caught them–– or Goddess forbid, the others realized they had snuck out. Time’s Hyrule was one of the more familiar of the others’, but only if they didn’t stray too far from Lon Lon Ranch. The fact that monsters from any of their worlds could spawn here was not better. 

(Especially if they were Twilight’s. What in Hylia happened there, to make his enemies so scary?)

Plus, the drying blood on his clothes was making everything uncomfortably itchy and sticky. Wild was probably anxious enough to stop at a river if Wind asked–– there was no way the others would miss it if he used the water on the Ranch to wash off. “I can do it,” Wind repeated firmly. He wasn’t a child, he was a hero in his own regard. The wound wasn’t even there anymore! He tried to sit up. His stomach flared with aching pain. Wind leaned back heavily into Wild’s hand, wheezing through clenched teeth. 

Wild stared at him. His eyes flared brighter. Wind felt scolded even without being yelled at. 

“Okay,” Wild said simply. 

Wind didn’t protest this time when the other gently scooped him off the grass. 

**Author's Note:**

> woo i havent written LU content Or feral!AU content in a While but here's this
> 
> where are the others? what's going on? Don't know dont care, have some ✨ Angst ✨
> 
> As always, find me at [Leviathiane](https://leviathiane.tumblr.com) on tumblr!


End file.
